CBD would be best, I think -- anywhere else and it's a hassle for too many people to get to. Plenty of places to choose from, too. Personally, I *love* the King Street Brewhouse for meetups -- they've got a great space down the back that's out of the way (and, if I remember correctly, doesn't cost anything to book), and it has half-decent food and a wide variety of beverages.
Submitted by Mark McMillan on Saturday February 9th, 2013 8:50 pm
Just you and I so far Matt, but I'm sure others will speak up closer to the time!
I'll check this post again in April and see if we've had any more response.
Submitted by James Dalton on Tuesday February 12th, 2013 5:27 pm
A small but sincere trio so far, but I guess it is time to make a mark in the sand and see if we can convince others to join us.
Timing is tricky - the conference is Monday/Tuesday and it is Mother's Day weekend prior to that. Given that Friday night after work seems to be a traditional meet up time, I propose:
Friday May 10 - 6:00pm (ish)
King Street Brewhouse
22 The Promenade, King Street Wharf (Darling Harbour) http://www.kingstbrewhouse.com.au/index.php/getting-here
I won't book anything at this stage unless we get an indication of bigger numbers.
Any objections? Otherwise, let's plan on that.
Submitted by Matt Palmer on Tuesday April 2nd, 2013 11:51 pm
A few thoughts on why it might be better to make it monday or tuesday night rather than friday night:
It'd be great if we could get Mark/Dani/whoever from MT is going to be presenting at the conference to come along to the meetup, and they probably won't be in town that early (although if they are, that'd make this objection moot -- and I'm sure a quick e-mail to MT would answer the question one way or the other).
Since we will all no doubt follow the MT guidance to moderate our alcohol intake, I'm sure we won't need a weekend to recover (which is the traditional reason why everyone goes out on Friday night).
Friday night is likely to be pretty busy down at the ol' brewhouse, and since we're all there to talk and politely socialise rather than drink and shout at each other, a quieter night might be better.
The time of day and location work fine for me, though.
Submitted by Mark McMillan on Wednesday April 3rd, 2013 6:33 pm
Ok let's change it. I made a bad assumption and assumed the conference was at an airport Hotel like last time but I've just now checked and I see they're at the Intercontinental in the CBD. So that changes my long rationale for choosing Friday (which I won't bother going through).
Knowing that Monday EMC runs very late with the open forum questions, how about Tuesday night 14th?
I also think we should may be look at something closer to Circular Quay - which would make it easier for conference attendees to join us after. Darling Harbour's not far, but it is a bit of a hike by foot.
Any suggestions? I like the Lord Nelson for a small group. It is a bit hard to plan with ambiguous numbers.
Submitted by Matt Palmer on Thursday April 4th, 2013 10:33 pm
The Orient hotel is a fair bit closer to the Intercontinental (and Circular Quay) than Lord Nelson, and a lot of the meetups I go to use it as a nice space. The top floor has a bunch of couches and is a nice place to sit and talk, and if the weather's nice (ha!), the beer garden out the back isn't the dodgiest I've seen. There's no shortage of other pubs around that part of the world, though, and I'm sure I can get a few volunteers to, uh, survey them with me. (grin)
Submitted by Mark Horstman on Friday April 5th, 2013 7:19 am
Folks-
We'd like to help. We are arranging to have a meetup in coordination with the Open Q&A that happens after the first day of our training - the EMC.
We thought it would be cool to invite everyone in at 530 - we will have snacks and sodas, and the Intercontinental should take good care of us.
I will take any and all questions until they kick us out, and we will have plenty of room.
Would love to say hello to all of you - and it will just be me coming over this trip.
Thoughts?
Mark
Submitted by Matt Palmer on Friday April 5th, 2013 2:51 pm
Mark, that sounds fantastic. I'd love to be able to come and observe another open Q&A, and it'll be a great place to mingle and meet more great people.
Submitted by Mark McMillan on Sunday April 7th, 2013 5:20 am
Sounds great Mark, thanks for the offer! Very generous of you to let us sit in on the Q&A as well.
Dani - sorry we scared you off last time :)
Let me know if I can be of any assistance organising this.
Submitted by Cyndy Broekers on Tuesday April 9th, 2013 9:54 pm
Oh wow, another cool incentive to get my butt over there.....
Booking a chat with my boss for tomorrow ;)
MarkMT - *if* I am given the ok to head to Sydney, the boss has said the Interconti is out for accommodation. Can you recommend anything closer that's cheaper? I don't want to be walking back to a hotel in the dark on my own either.
Cheers
Cyndy
Submitted by Mark McMillan on Tuesday April 9th, 2013 11:52 pm
Hi Cyndy
I don't pretend to be an expert on hotels, but there's plenty of choices in Circular Quay/CBD. They'll cost you a bit of $$ due to location though - if your company is paying maybe that's not such an issue.
If you're not fussy (and paying yourself), I'd get on lastminute.com.au and get one of the secret hotel deals - I've used them in the past when I need to stay in the city and they're good value.
The last few times I used them I ended up with the Amora Jameson (near Wynyard station and a short walk to the Quay), the Swissotel (in the CBD), the Pullman Hyde Park (CBD) and the Raddison Blu (which would also be a short walk to the Quay). I wouldn't have paid more than $200 a night for any of them and they were all clean and comfortable.
Maybe it is because I'm a bloke, but I find Circular Quay to be really safe. It is well lit and there's tons of people around. If your hotel was further away (and less expensive) you'd have no trouble getting a taxi from the Intercontinental. Circular Quay rail station is right around the corner too.
Good luck
Mark
Submitted by Cyndy Broekers on Wednesday April 10th, 2013 12:52 am
Id love to be part of a Sydney meet up group. I attended the Q&A at the first Sydney conference although I couldn't come to the conference, and it was great (no surprises there). Thanks to the organising few, and Mark for stepping in to play host. Looking forward to meeting you then and sharing some stories,
Jackie
Submitted by Craig Donnelly on Saturday April 27th, 2013 3:44 am
Craig, it goes on until everyone's questions are answered, the hotel shoos everyone out of the room, or Mark drops from exhaustion (I'm fairly sure the latter has never happened). You're welcome to come along for a while and then head out when you need to be somewhere else -- I did that last year, and I didn't get death stares from anyone the next day at the ECC. (grin)
Submitted by Mark McMillan on Sunday April 28th, 2013 11:31 pm
Hi All,
Been following MT (podcasts) for awhile now and did their first conference Nov 11 @ the Mercure Hotel Sydney Airport.
Managed to catch up with one other pre conference in Newtown.
Enjoy it is a great 2 days and Mark's after hours Q&A on day two is a long one, so be prepared.
Look forward to reading your feedback and networking with anyone interested.
Cheers Allan 3365 (DiSC)
Submitted by Chris Dewhurst on Wednesday May 8th, 2013 12:43 am
I also attended the 2011 conference in Sydney and it was great. I have been really happy to see them return each year since. This year I'm sending my direct. Would love to be able to stop by the open Q&A, and I will try and arrange the time to make it down to Sydney on the 13 May.
Chris
Submitted by Troxelobl Lqeadawewn on Thursday May 9th, 2013 4:36 am
Hey guys -- I'd love to hear your feedback if you attended the reception on Monday night with Mark. It's something we're considering doing for those conferences Mark is at, the number of which is decreasing as I do more of them. ;-))
Thanks!
Dani
Submitted by Mark McMillan on Wednesday May 15th, 2013 4:37 pm
I thought it was very generous and a nice initiative. So thank you.
I will say that there wasn't much "meeting up" going on, as the visitors sat at around the attendees and pretty much listened to the Q&A. The endurance of the visitors failed to outlast the endurance of Mark's Q&A answering - so most people had left by the time the Q&A finished. In other words, there wasn't a huge amount of "meeting up" going on. (Having said that, I did swap business cards with a very nice person in the lobby prior to the Q&A so I guess that counts).
One positive for the attendees was that they got to hear questions from people who had put this stuff in to practice for a while, so the Q&A was a little richer because of it.
From a visitor's standpoint, it was nice to see some friendly faces. Also to recognise that the questions people have are universal, and hear some reinforcement of what we learned at earlier conferences.
If you do it again for the next Sydney conference, I will likely head down if for no other reason than to say hello.
Submitted by Dani Martin on Friday May 17th, 2013 12:31 pm
It wasn't a "meet up" in the traditional sense, but I certainly enjoyed attending because I just love watching Mark "in action". I find the Q&A valuable and useful, and certainly wouldn't want to interfere with that, but I think there's a place for a true social meet up in connection with, but not part of, the EMC/ECC, *regardless* of who's presenting -- I'd love to see you again too, Dani! Broadening the network of MT managers in a geographic area can only be of benefit to everyone, and that's what I feel a true "meet up" event would have done that attending the Q&A didn't.
Definitely interested
CBD would be best, I think -- anywhere else and it's a hassle for too many people to get to. Plenty of places to choose from, too. Personally, I *love* the King Street Brewhouse for meetups -- they've got a great space down the back that's out of the way (and, if I remember correctly, doesn't cost anything to book), and it has half-decent food and a wide variety of beverages.
So far a quality group
Just you and I so far Matt, but I'm sure others will speak up closer to the time!
I'll check this post again in April and see if we've had any more response.
Sydney Meetup
Hi Mark,
I would also be interested in joining you.
James
King Street Brewhouse It Is
A small but sincere trio so far, but I guess it is time to make a mark in the sand and see if we can convince others to join us.
Timing is tricky - the conference is Monday/Tuesday and it is Mother's Day weekend prior to that. Given that Friday night after work seems to be a traditional meet up time, I propose:
Friday May 10 - 6:00pm (ish)
King Street Brewhouse
22 The Promenade, King Street Wharf (Darling Harbour)
http://www.kingstbrewhouse.com.au/index.php/getting-here
I won't book anything at this stage unless we get an indication of bigger numbers.
Any objections? Otherwise, let's plan on that.
Mon/Tue might be better
A few thoughts on why it might be better to make it monday or tuesday night rather than friday night:
The time of day and location work fine for me, though.
Happy to change
Ok let's change it. I made a bad assumption and assumed the conference was at an airport Hotel like last time but I've just now checked and I see they're at the Intercontinental in the CBD. So that changes my long rationale for choosing Friday (which I won't bother going through).
Knowing that Monday EMC runs very late with the open forum questions, how about Tuesday night 14th?
I also think we should may be look at something closer to Circular Quay - which would make it easier for conference attendees to join us after. Darling Harbour's not far, but it is a bit of a hike by foot.
Any suggestions? I like the Lord Nelson for a small group. It is a bit hard to plan with ambiguous numbers.
We use the Orient fairly often
The Orient hotel is a fair bit closer to the Intercontinental (and Circular Quay) than Lord Nelson, and a lot of the meetups I go to use it as a nice space. The top floor has a bunch of couches and is a nice place to sit and talk, and if the weather's nice (ha!), the beer garden out the back isn't the dodgiest I've seen. There's no shortage of other pubs around that part of the world, though, and I'm sure I can get a few volunteers to, uh, survey them with me. (grin)
Hey guys
Folks-
We'd like to help. We are arranging to have a meetup in coordination with the Open Q&A that happens after the first day of our training - the EMC.
We thought it would be cool to invite everyone in at 530 - we will have snacks and sodas, and the Intercontinental should take good care of us.
I will take any and all questions until they kick us out, and we will have plenty of room.
Would love to say hello to all of you - and it will just be me coming over this trip.
Thoughts?
Mark
Oh wow... that would be *amazing*
Mark, that sounds fantastic. I'd love to be able to come and observe another open Q&A, and it'll be a great place to mingle and meet more great people.
I'm all for that
Sounds great Mark, thanks for the offer! Very generous of you to let us sit in on the Q&A as well.
Dani - sorry we scared you off last time :)
Let me know if I can be of any assistance organising this.
So cool!
Oh wow, another cool incentive to get my butt over there.....
Booking a chat with my boss for tomorrow ;)
MarkMT - *if* I am given the ok to head to Sydney, the boss has said the Interconti is out for accommodation. Can you recommend anything closer that's cheaper? I don't want to be walking back to a hotel in the dark on my own either.
Cheers
Cyndy
Plenty of choices
Hi Cyndy
I don't pretend to be an expert on hotels, but there's plenty of choices in Circular Quay/CBD. They'll cost you a bit of $$ due to location though - if your company is paying maybe that's not such an issue.
If you're not fussy (and paying yourself), I'd get on lastminute.com.au and get one of the secret hotel deals - I've used them in the past when I need to stay in the city and they're good value.
The last few times I used them I ended up with the Amora Jameson (near Wynyard station and a short walk to the Quay), the Swissotel (in the CBD), the Pullman Hyde Park (CBD) and the Raddison Blu (which would also be a short walk to the Quay). I wouldn't have paid more than $200 a night for any of them and they were all clean and comfortable.
Maybe it is because I'm a bloke, but I find Circular Quay to be really safe. It is well lit and there's tons of people around. If your hotel was further away (and less expensive) you'd have no trouble getting a taxi from the Intercontinental. Circular Quay rail station is right around the corner too.
Good luck
Mark
That's great info, thanks
That's great info, thanks again Mark ;)
Love to join you
Hi folks
Id love to be part of a Sydney meet up group. I attended the Q&A at the first Sydney conference although I couldn't come to the conference, and it was great (no surprises there). Thanks to the organising few, and Mark for stepping in to play host. Looking forward to meeting you then and sharing some stories,
Jackie
Planning to come
Hi.
I'm planning to come along.
Just to clarify - it's on Monday 13 May from 5.30pm till about what time?
Thanks
Craig.
"Until they kick us out"
Craig, it goes on until everyone's questions are answered, the hotel shoos everyone out of the room, or Mark drops from exhaustion (I'm fairly sure the latter has never happened). You're welcome to come along for a while and then head out when you need to be somewhere else -- I did that last year, and I didn't get death stares from anyone the next day at the ECC. (grin)
That's What You Think
See, fellow attendees, I TOLD you Matt wouldn't notice! (bigger grin)
Enjoy!
Hi All,
Been following MT (podcasts) for awhile now and did their first conference Nov 11 @ the Mercure Hotel Sydney Airport.
Managed to catch up with one other pre conference in Newtown.
Enjoy it is a great 2 days and Mark's after hours Q&A on day two is a long one, so be prepared.
Look forward to reading your feedback and networking with anyone interested.
Cheers Allan 3365 (DiSC)
Great to have them in Australia again
I also attended the 2011 conference in Sydney and it was great. I have been really happy to see them return each year since. This year I'm sending my direct. Would love to be able to stop by the open Q&A, and I will try and arrange the time to make it down to Sydney on the 13 May.
Chris
its nice i like that but i
its nice i like that but i need some time top think on that , actually i am little busy so i will try .
Locksmith Tucson
Did you go? What did you think?
Hey guys -- I'd love to hear your feedback if you attended the reception on Monday night with Mark. It's something we're considering doing for those conferences Mark is at, the number of which is decreasing as I do more of them. ;-))
Thanks!
Dani
Nice Initiative
I thought it was very generous and a nice initiative. So thank you.
I will say that there wasn't much "meeting up" going on, as the visitors sat at around the attendees and pretty much listened to the Q&A. The endurance of the visitors failed to outlast the endurance of Mark's Q&A answering - so most people had left by the time the Q&A finished. In other words, there wasn't a huge amount of "meeting up" going on. (Having said that, I did swap business cards with a very nice person in the lobby prior to the Q&A so I guess that counts).
One positive for the attendees was that they got to hear questions from people who had put this stuff in to practice for a while, so the Q&A was a little richer because of it.
From a visitor's standpoint, it was nice to see some friendly faces. Also to recognise that the questions people have are universal, and hear some reinforcement of what we learned at earlier conferences.
If you do it again for the next Sydney conference, I will likely head down if for no other reason than to say hello.
Thanks, Mark
Appreciate your comments and glad you could make it. I think it's likely we'll do it again during our October conference in Sydney.
Thanks,
Dani
As MarkMT said...
It wasn't a "meet up" in the traditional sense, but I certainly enjoyed attending because I just love watching Mark "in action". I find the Q&A valuable and useful, and certainly wouldn't want to interfere with that, but I think there's a place for a true social meet up in connection with, but not part of, the EMC/ECC, *regardless* of who's presenting -- I'd love to see you again too, Dani! Broadening the network of MT managers in a geographic area can only be of benefit to everyone, and that's what I feel a true "meet up" event would have done that attending the Q&A didn't.